Monday, 5 June 2017

Some of my favourite emails I recieve as a wedding blogger, are those from happily married brides, asking me to feature their weddings on Before the Big Day. Organising your wedding can take months, and I remember how thrilled I was by my own wedding pictures by Caught the Light, I couldn't wait to share them with everone! So when the lovely Pip got in touch with me a couple of months ago with her stunning wedding photographs by Victoria Phipps, I wanted to share them with you immediately. I'm loving Pip's elegant 'Claire' dress by Jenny Packham, the Nik's stunning paper buttonhole rose by Petal Products and their gorgeous teepee-style marquee. Other stealworthy deatils include the floral vintage china, the beautiful vintage car, and the lovely beachside portrait pictures. It's such a good idea to get away for a few minutes, for your wedding pictures together. I know I found it hard to leave my guests, but they make such fabulous memories. For more fantastic details about this beautiful wedding, as written by Pip, don't miss the feature on Whimsical Wonderland Weddings. Huge thanks to Victoria Phipps Photography for these lovely pictures.

Thursday, 17 December 2015

A gleaming white Rolls Royce, a sparkly wedding theme, and a seaside venue on the island of Ibiza - you can tell this wedding is going to be a cracker already! I've fallen for the gorgeous bride, Claire and her stunning 'Amelie' gown by Gemy Maalouf, and you'll love her pretty-in-pink bridesmaids dresses. If you're planning a destination wedding, you'll find every single picture is going to be seriously Pin-worthy. Huge thanks to Ily Grantham for her stunning photographs, and to Claire and Jonny for filling in my questionnaire with so many helpful tips.

Sunday, 29 November 2015

This amazing Ibiza wedding will have you dreaming of summer! It's a stunning example of a destination big day. Simple, chic, and perfect. The great thing about getting married abroad is that the venue usually speaks for itself - you don't need stacks of extra wedding decorations. Plus all your friends feel like they're on holiday, so they come ready to party! Enjoy Ily Grantham's beautiful pictures - she really did capture every perfect detail, and don't miss Claire and Jonny's answers to the Before the Big Day Questionnaire for all their top suppliers!

Tuesday, 24 February 2015

It's time lovely ladies, it's time for the wedding details! I meant to post this last night be jetlag got the better of me. However it means I've been particularly {if accidentally} good at suspense-building. There are so many wedding details pictured in these fabulous Caught the Light wedding pictures, you're going to be slightly blown away. It's a DIY bride's fantasy wedding! Take a look at all the paper decorations, from the handmade origami swan chandeliers, to the striped straw flags and boat place markers. I'm loving the colourful bright theme, the wonderful array of different flower blooms in little vases and the wire table numbers. With blue-striped napkins, a Catch of the Day basket for wedding wishes, a net capturing Lynda and Blair's friends' pictures, and little messages in bottles as favours, every wedding detail is in keeping with the nautical theme. I think I'm in love! Huge thanks to Chloé Browne from Caught the Light for her fabulous pictures. Don't miss the fabulousness that was Part 2, and Part 1!

Monday, 23 February 2015

When it comes to wedding transport, it doesn't get much more original than a traditional London barge! But when gorgeous couple Lynda and Blair celebrated their wedding in Maida Vale, it made perfect sense to use the canals around Little Venice to transport their guests from the ceremony venue to the wedding reception at the waterside restaurant, The Summerhouse. I'm loving how Lynda decorated the barge with pompoms {tutorial here}, bunting and paper-hearts. All these wedding decorations are super-easy to DIY - why not get a group of your girlfriends together for a big crafting night before your big day? With personalised button badges and fans as favours, and nautical red and white ribbon decorating the vases, Lynda and Blair's wedding planner, Rebecca at Harlequin & Romance thought of every wedding detail! Huge thanks to Chloé Browne from Caught the Light for her fabulous pictures. Click back later today for the wedding detail-fest that is Part 3, and click here for Part 1!

London brides are going to love this inspirational Little Venice wedding. There are so many wedding details, I've had to split it into three posts - it's a Before the Big Day record! Gorgeous couple Lynda and Blair chose to get married in a local registry office, before taking a barge down the canal {how cool is that!}, to The Summerhouse in Maida Vale for their wedding reception. It's the first time I've seen a barge used as wedding transport, and I love the idea! Lynda carried the watery theme throughout her wedding day, with tonnes of cute nautical wedding details - pictures coming soon in Part 2 and 3 later today. In these shots I'm mostly loving Lynda's elegant Jenny Packham wedding dress, her gorgeous chignon with glittery jewel hair-piece, and her yellow arum lilies bouquet. Blair looks equally dapper in his red tie and matching auburn arum lily buttonhole. Don't miss Lynda's bridesmaids' pretty dresses - the subtle button details are another nod to the nautical theme. Huge thanks to Chloé Browne from Caught the Light for her fabulous pictures - Chloé was my wedding photographer as well, so she's my favourite! Click back later today for more!

Wednesday, 18 February 2015

This incredible shoot is fresh from an amazingly talented team over on the west coast of the US, where all the best wedding trends seem to start. With a divine wedding dress by Samuelle Couture and smart nautical stationery by Feast Art and Calligraphy, plus styling by Joy Proctor of Joy de Vivre, I'd be tempted to copy every detail for my wedding! I love the combination of white calligraphy on dark blue, the vintage stamps, and the rustic hessian table cloth. I predict coloured glasses will soon become a huge trend in wedding tablescapes, and I'm pleased to see giant bouquets are still on trend. Another fun idea is a mix-your-own-cocktail trolley - as previewed by my wedding planner Kerry Bracken in her Provence wedding. Photography by the incredible Jose Villa - check out his blog for more fabulous wedding inspiration.

Wednesday, 30 October 2013

With a stunning beachside ceremony, and an incredible reception at The Four Seasons Langkawi in Malaysia, this was never going to be an ordinary wedding. Kimberlee and Chris chose Malaysia, as it's half-way between their two families {Australia and the UK}, plus it's breathtakingly beautiful. I'm completely obsessed with the amazing venue, and stylish touches added by the bride and groom. Stealworthy ideas include Kimberlee's simple but chic rose bouquet, her bridesmaids' neutral gowns, the boys' fabulous Next suits {steal!}, and the cute lego wedding cake toppers. Kimberlee and Chris also created a 'Get to Know The Guest List' booklet, to encourage their friends and family to get talking - such a good idea! Enjoy all of Kimberlee's fab advice - as an events planner, she's something of an expert on these things - and of course, Ruby Yeo Photography and Christine Lim's incredible wedding pictures.

We celebrated our wedding on 15th March 2013 at The Four Seasons Langkawi in Malaysia. With me being from Australia and with Chris being from London, we had always discussed a wedding abroad. We decided on Malaysia as it was the perfect half-way point for both families, and because it is breathtakingly beautiful.

I plan events every day for my job with Chillisauce, but even so, I really enjoyed planning my wedding. It's totally different when it's your own day, and it brought Chris and myself closer together. It was a huge task researching a destination wedding but totally worth it. I wouldn't change a thing.

Tuesday, 29 October 2013

After yesterday's crazy storm, who wouldn't want to escape to a desert island! While I can't whisk you away, I can help you dream of a destination wedding thanks to Chris and Kimberlee's beautiful beach wedding. They chose the incredible The Four Seasons Langkawi in Malaysia for their wedding venue, which meant they could rely on the hotel to provide many of their wedding details, including their flowers and wedding cake, and of course, the hilarious golf-cart wedding transport! Kimberlee added plenty of her own wedding details as well - despite having to plan her wedding from so far away. I love her idea of providing keys to unlock a box at each guest's table place - it's an original idea I haven't seen at any other weddings. Also the pretty parasols were a fantastic idea, and Kimberlee's fishtail Vera Wang wedding gown is definitely a stealworthy idea!! Enjoy these incredible wedding photographs by Ruby Yeo Photography and Christine Lim {second shooter}, more to come from their reception later. P.S. You can watch their wedding video too!

We celebrated our wedding on 15th March 2013 at The Four Seasons Langkawi in Malaysia. With me being from Australia and with Chris being from London, we had always discussed a wedding abroad. We decided on Malaysia as it was the perfect half-way point for both families, and because it is breathtakingly beautiful.

The hotel already had such amazing scenery, that we decided to keep everything else simple from a wedding theme point of view. Chris and I have similar tastes so agreeing on things was easy.

Tuesday, 6 August 2013

Bird-cage veils are seriously floating my boat for this summer season, and the bride in this pretty, monochrome wedding is rocking a lovely little number. Ashley chose a gorgeous seaside setting for her marriage to Derek, and with hundreds of wedding details, you're going to be wanting to save this wedding for future inspiration. I'm mainly gushing over the vintage frame table plan, the un-tiered wedding cake and the floral print stationery and table cloths. It just goes to show that monochrome doesn't have to be stark, it can be soft and pretty instead. Loving the sparkler send-off too! Stunning pictures published with thanks to the team at This Modern Romance.

Tuesday, 14 May 2013

Today's couple chose London and the seaside as themes for their relaxed, summer wedding, and the combination worked a treat. Just goes to show that if you like two wedding themes, don't feel you have to choose just one. There are so many stealworthy wedding details, I'm finding it hard to pick which ones to mention. I love the deck chairs, the modern venue {Devon House on St Katharine Docks}, the Routemaster Bus, the mini-picnic complete with glass, and the boat filled with booze. But a special mention has to go to Erin's dress, which is simply exquisite. Gorgeous photographs published with thanks to Urban Bridesmaid. Don't miss her description of the wedding, plus lots of the suppliers, below the pictures.

Message from the Photographer, Urban BridesmaidDress code for the wedding was summer dresses and no ties. Hats were optional and left to the discretion of the guests. Guests all met at the bride and groom’s local pub – the Prince Albert and awaited the mode of transport to the church – a red London bus! The bride dispensed with the tradition of not seeing the groom until just before the wedding and joined the guests at the Prince Albert. The groom was overwhelmed at the first look at his bride in her Audrey Hepburn inspired wedding gown, and both were grinning all day!

A quick bus ride away to Christ Church in Mayfair for the marriage service. The bride and groom exchanged vows and signed the register, before boarding the bus to have a sight seeing tour of London, to the delight of both the bride and groom's London and Australian family. The guests didn't go hungry, thanks to a bento box of brie, cheese biscuits, parma ham and grapes sourced by the bride from Borough Market.

The reception was held at Devon House, St Katharine Docks near Tower Bridge with a seaside picnic theme – fake grass, deckchairs, cushions, candles, a boat full of drinks, and a BBQ.

Unfortunately the rain fell with a vengeance in the afternoon, but armed with white umbrellas the guests were determined to have fun, and it didn't stop the BBQ at all. They all enjoyed a sit down dinner followed by wedding cakes in teacups for dessert!

Thursday, 28 March 2013

It's time for some serious wedding details my friends! It's Part 3 of Gary and Lian's creative Cornish wedding, and they went to town with their reception decorations. Gary is a creative director of a graphic design company, and you can really see his creative flair in the wedding stationery and colour palette. Everything fits together perfectly! I love the grey, white and mustard theming, the pom-poms {less is certainly more}, the vintage letter box for wedding messages and the old-fashioned paper bags filled with Cornish fudge. Lian's mum made the incredible wedding cake - each layer is decorated in a different style, and it looks amazing. Even the cake pops were handmade by Lian's sister-in-law. It just goes to show what a professional look you can create without blowing the budget. So inspirational! Huge thanks to Keith Riley for his fabulous wedding photographs - he captured every detail perfectly.

My husband is an incredibly talented graphic designer, so he created all the wedding stationery himself. It followed the grey and mustard theme and had many features that related to our lives.

For example we have a ginger cat called Doodle, so he was in the design, we were getting married on the 29th and we have a special story about ladybirds, so he added them, and they had 29 spots. When sending the invites we bound all the parts with co-ordinating butchers string and postage labels.

Our wedding favours were different for men and women. We gave the boys miniature bottles of Jaegermeister and Red Bull plus a cigar, as a reminder of the fun they had on the Stag Do. The girls received a mini-bottle of Marcus rose, because that's what we drank on my Hen Do.

Everyone received a yellow and white striped bag filled with Cornish fudge, and a cake pop made by my sister-in-law.

We created Jar of hearts which was to replace the traditional wedding book. On each table there was a Kilner jar filled with various badges with different emotions. For example kissing, friendship, love. Each person had to pick a badge, wear it a d write down a piece of advice about the emotion they had picked. They wrote these on little cards and then put them in the jar for safe keeping. We then put the jars on the tables to act as a conversation starters for everyone.

We didn't want to spend much money on a wedding cake, so I did some research and asked my mum to make it. It followed the grey and mustard theme, and was a three tier cake with a different type of sponge for each layer.

The decoration was different on each layer and we had a mustard yellow Mr and Mrs Jacobs sign made for the top of the cake bought from Not On The High Street.

We loved planning the wedding and all the things that went with it. By doing research before hand, talking to each other about our ideas, and being open to suggestions from our florist and photographer, we got wonderful results on our special day.

I'd recommend to other brides to enjoy every part of the planning. Do your research, make mood boards, talk to your future husband. Get ideas, and see if you can get them cheaper somewhere else. Plus making things for your wedding is really good fun and satisfying!

We chose our wedding photographer by doing lots of research online. We knew we didn't want a traditional wedding photographer, and the typical line-up style of pictures. We liked Keith Riley Photography as his website showed a diverse range of work, including tattoo photography!

Updated daily & brimming with wedding ideas and inspiration, Before the Big Day is the best wedding blog for couples looking to make their big day stand out from the crowd. With 100's of real weddings, fantastic wedding theme ideas, unique DIY wedding projects & all the hottest trends, it’s the best UK wedding blog for the inspired bride.